Waterloo Region Resources for People with Disabilities

The Waterloo region in Canada offers a number of facilities to assist people with disabilities. There are several community organizations and local government efforts to make Waterloo more accessible to people who are differently abled. Read ahead for a list of resources for people with disabilities in Waterloo.

Useful Websites

You can find detailed and comprehensive information regarding facilities for disabled in Waterloo online. Both government and nonprofits organizations run highly informative websites. Here are several useful examples:

The local government runs the website which has a special section dedicated to information relating to people with disabilities. Here you will find information pertaining to accessible customer service, housing, transportation options, community resources, support for children with special needs and website accessibility. The website also gives telephone numbers and email addresses to contact the agency to get more information.

www.wwhealthline.ca

Healthline Canada is a website and an online resource center dedicated to topics relating to a variety of health issues. The website has a special subsection for issues relating to children and youth with disabilities. In the section, under Waterloo, Wellington, there’s a lot of information relating to getting help and support for young ones with disabilities. The site lists programs children in Waterloo with disabilities can sign up for or consult with. Plus, you will be able to find a number of organizations that assist people with learning disabilities of all ages.

www.kwaccessability.ca

Access Ability is a non-profit organization located in the Kitchener Waterloo region. The organization’s website is essentially an information centre for people with disabilities in the region. The non-profit says its goal is to support the self-determination of people with physical disabilities. The information provided is well rounded, but there are more resources provided for physical disabilities than mental disabilities. The site gives everything from healthy living tips to schedules for recreational activities people with disabilities can participate in. The site also provides details regarding public computer access in the PHIRST LINK computer lab.

charityvillage.com/directories/organizations-a-h/disabilities

Charity Village, a well-known Canadian non-profit, maintains a directory of online and offline resources for people with both mental and physical disabilities. The directory is highly useful for finding legal resources for disability-related issues. Residents of Waterloo will have no trouble finding a local organization for support and resources. The organization also provides job listings and other virtual resources related to learning and finding support.

Community Resources

Ontario Renovates Program (Homeowners Repair Program)

This program is a part of the Affordable Housing (IAH) Program funded by both the federal and local government. This program offers financial assistance to people with disabilities in addition to low-income households. People with disabilities can get funding to repair the house to meet modern standards and to modify a house to make it more accessible to the person with the disability. The eligibility criteria may require a certain income threshold to qualify, depending on the number of people living in the house. People with disabilities can get funding as a forgivable loan.

Special Needs Access Point (SNAP)

This is a one-stop access point in Waterloo for parents of children with special needs. SNAP takes referrals from parents seeking child care for special needs children, care programs, community organizations focused on special needs children, and answers questions regarding accessibility. SNAP does not provide any services, but it does connect callers to organizations that do.

Extend-A-Family

The Waterloo branch of this non-profit helps people with mental or physical disabilities and their families find support to overcome challenges. It’s mainly focused on fostering good relationships among people with disabilities. This organization is a good place to seek support for a variety of issues facing people with disabilities. Family members can join even if the person with the disability is unwilling to or is unable to.

You can use any of the resources above to find support to help and assist a person with any disability.